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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Reign of Christ Sunday: Communities of resistance and new creation

11/24

Presentation from Bread & Puppet

Today is Christ the King Sunday. Or Reign of
Christ Sunday. Or Reign of God Sunday. And the Sunday following the 50th
anniversary of the assignation of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. And the
Sunday before Thanksgiving. And we have so much to be thankful for.

Feeling blessed by the presence of Leslie at
our service. A Presbyterian minister in her own rite and also wife of our new
exec, Bob. And the presence of our Bread
& Puppet friends one last time. And we worship with the full array of
puppets filling our sanctuary.

Our first lesson comes from Jeremiah. And we
talk of his prophetic witness, how his name came to be associated with
unrelenting critiques of corrupt governments and institutions. (As in jeremiad.) Today he’s after bad
shepherds, those who lead the people astray, who try to manipulate their fears
and anxieties into supporting politics of power and domination. It’s almost too
direct and apparent to warrant lengthy conversation.

We sing together the Benedictus, the song of Zechariah. And then a look at the Epistle,COLOSSIANS 1:11-20. So clearly we’re dealing with a cosmic
Christ theology here. A theology with echoes of Gnosticism. But we’re not here
to spend long time in discussion of theology. We are most drawn to this verse,

13He has rescued us from the power of
darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son

And there the
conversation begins. We talk about how Christ the King Sunday became a day of
resistance during the Hitler era in Germany. A catholic version of the
ConfessingChurch’s Barmen Declaration.If
Christ is king, Hitler cannot be. If we live in the kingdom of Christ, we
cannot give allegiance to the Reich. It’s that simple.

But
transferred..what does that mean? Again resonance with B&P’s shattered
world and parody of a customs officer interview. Many transfers are not
voluntary. Where are we? It’s being able to envision the beloved community and
live into it before it exists. To imagine a community of welcome, acceptance,
inclusion living lives dedicated to justice and harmony with creation…to seek
to live that even before to exists so that it can exist. Like worship
gatherings of antebellum slaves. Tutus’s pre-fall of apartheid declaration that
we have already won. King’s mountain top vision and speech.That’s what it is.. Yes, and Bread and Puppet
in their northeastern kingdom home. Communities of resistance and new creation.

Finally we come
to the Gospel. And the greatest paradox of all. Thisis the crowning moment of the church year.
The moment when Christ is enthroned as sovereign of creation. And where do we
find ourselves? On the cross.In what
was intended as a political execution of humiliation. And it is there where we
find the triumph, as we discovered in our year long study of Mark. Not the
resurrection. The resurrection is a bonus. It is not a proof. Perhaps a
consequence. It is in the willingness to follow to the end, even to the cross,
where the powers of death and domination are ultimately defeated. It is the
ultimate defiance. It defeats manipulation, threat and intimidation. Robs the
empire of any power at all. And in this is victory.

Is there not
fear? Of curse there is fear. I recall Rabbi Marshall Meyer’s defiance of the
Argentine junta. Standing naked in the police station until they gave in, turned
over the one he came to find. They could have simply killed him. But his
complete vulnerability defeated them. When asked if he was afraid, he replied,
Afraid? I was scared shitless…But he stayed steadfast. And in that willingness
to go to the end, the powers were defeated. They had nothing else to threaten.
And in that we are saved. Delivered from the powers of death and domination.

The dialogue
continues with our friends from B&P. Why are you part of B&P?What does
it mean? And the answers all have to do with a sense of making a difference.
Oftransformation.Of self. And world. A relentless, tireless
resistance. And the experience of joy that comes from community. Can we the
church find that? Create that space? That is our challenge as we begin again.

In the offering
part of our service, our B&P friends present us with banners to keep in a
sign of our ongoing connection. And the proceeds of their passing the hat. (Over
$800.) And we thank them for their gift of presence and for standing in
solidarity when the chips were down. And Katherine makes a personal
presentation. And we bless them as they prepare for their final performance and
return to Vermont.

Katherine's presentation

We end with
songs. And embraces. And then our session meets. Approves an overture for
General Assembly regarding current oppressive drug laws. And work on our
strategy for moving forward.

And so we come to
B&P’s final performance. Another full house. Ted and Asya and Jonathan back
one last time. My neighbor Ric. And Jeremy. And my friend Milica joins me. And I see our new exec Bob and Leslie are
here as well. I want it all to slow down. Not end. But it must.

And as soon as
the standing ovation is over, as soon as
the final bows are done, the dismantling, deconstruction of the shattered world
begins.

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